Comforting Souls
by HunnyABee
Summary: There is a kind of sadness that rips through the soul. In those moments, we need others the most. Bella, stricken by grief, cannot help how magnified the pain is in her vampiric stone of a body. Edward comforts her soul as best he can.


**Comforting Souls**

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He took her hand and patted it soothingly as she sobbed quiet and cried dry tears. He could only watch as all her grief came out. She couldn't cry—not physically—but she could definitely feel. He reached out and took hold of her other hand, rubbing circles on the back of both as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. She only looked up at him, her once-brown eyes wide as if she were a little child who'd gotten lost at an airport and was grief-stricken. Her golden eyes could only manage to dull, to lose their brilliance. Even then, she still looked like a model, her hair perfectly wavy and her skin perfectly pale.

"No, it's okay, Edward," she spoke quietly, her voice musical. Even her voice didn't sound ragged and tired and hoarse from the sobs. It was beginning to frustrate her. She couldn't help rubbing her cheeks with the back of her hand—it was a human gesture that, although wasn't needed any longer, refused to be forgotten.

Edward gave her a saddened look of disbelief. His pale skin, his golden eyes, and his bronze hair were all perfect, all beautiful. "Obviously not, Bella," he said softly. His eyes squeezed shut and he turned his head, bowing it slightly. "I shouldn't have brought you into this life. I knew you were going to have to deal with this… All the deaths… I shouldn't—"

"Stop!" Edward looked up at Bella, his eyes opening slightly. He looked completely devastated, forlorn. "No one could have stopped it. It would have happened even if I were human. But I have you, now, to help me through it." She shook her head, her eyes closing. Her mouth pressed together in a thin line, wavering. She scowled furiously, her nose scrunching up. "But it's still so sad," she choked out. "Why? WHY?"

Edward gathered Bella into his lap, wrapping his arms around her back. She threw her arms around his shoulders, her face pressed into the crook of his neck. She let out a wail and began bawling. Edward held on to her tightly, stroking her hair and rubbing her back reassuringly. Words were useless.

She couldn't describe how much it hated it. Before, it never bothered her. But now? It definitely seemed like an insult to _his_ memory. She couldn't cry. If she sobbed, her voice wouldn't get any hoarser. She would never look flushed and puffy-eyed, her face red with the blotted, tear-stained cheeks and her nose stuffy, runny, and pink. Her eyes wouldn't dim so much or flood with unshed tears. She would never look anything less than perfect. If she couldn't even look like an agonized mess of a person, she had no hope. It seemed an almost insult to his memory. She couldn't even cry for him.

"Why?" she repeated again, softly, into his smooth skin. "Why did it have to be Charlie?"

Edward sighed, a scowl marring his perfect face. "Everyone has their time, love," he said quietly. "The memory will always be alive—in you—in Renesmee—in our hearts." He continued to pass a hand through her hair.

Bella sniffled, clutching Edward tighter than before. She pressed herself to him, longing for his comfort, longing for the security his words held. Bella needed him. She needed to get herself together. She needed a bright light, a safety, in the doom and gloom that surrounded her. Bella pulled away, once again needlessly wiping her nonexistent tears.

"Thank you," she spoke, "so much, Edward." Her golden eyes expressed all her emotions—she was transparent that way—to him. The corners of her lips lifted in a halfhearted smile. Edward raised a hand to her cheeks, brushing his fingertips over where her tears would have stained her face. He smiled, lovingly gazing into her eyes, a gesture that told her everything would be alright. He reached out and enveloped her in his arms. She laid her head upon his chest, closing her eyes and breathing in the scent that was Edward. Bella smiled.

Love wasn't all about physical touches. It wasn't about attraction. It wasn't about what you could gain from being with another. It was about the harmonizing of souls, the existences that couldn't be without each other, and the moments where they just needed to be held, to be cared for, and to be reassured. It was about so much more. And now Renesmee had her Jacob just as Bella had her Edward. Neither would be in pain tonight and would survive tomorrow with the love of the other. Not even death would separate souls, and life only brought them together. No, nothing could separate two lovely souls.

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**_In case you haven't deduced it by now, Charlie's dead. He's old. _****_He died._****_ Yes, Renesmee is older. If you want her and Jacob to be a couple or not in your imagination, that's your view. Edward was comforting Bella. This oneshot idea_**—**_that was a whole lot different in my mind_**—**_popped into my head. First, it was in a different fandom, but I thought about how it would be better if it were a werewolf and an OC here. Then I thought about how you guys don't know about the OC or connect to it like I would have, being the writer. Scratched that idea. Then I thought about Jacob comforting Bella, but I couldn't see him doing that when she was a vampire, so that was out for Jacob. And as for Edward and Bella, I was reluctant to do so because it was far from my first vision. Either way, it came out well enough. I wanted something that wasn't all physical. Sure, lemons and kisses and such are great, but sometimes a girl needs the sweet hugs and caring gestures instead of hot moments. Comforting came into play here. The title was the hardest thing to do, so it probably doesn't sound right. Anyhow, I think it came out fairly good, but that's just me.  
Review if you like, but I just posted this to post it, share with the world, etc. I hope you enjoyed it, as much as possibly anyway.  
_**


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